Several artists spoke at InspiralLondon’s Friday event, including Alberto Duman and Claire Qualmann.

Artist Alberto Duman described his recent Leverhulme Trust Funded project ‘Music for Master planning’. It focusses on the area of Newham, London – which he described as having a ‘marketing pitch’, where it is being promoted in a homogenous way internationally by the local authority to attract inward investment. The area is described as an ‘Arc of opportunity’ and a ‘London regen supernova’ in a promotional video Alberto recovered via a Freedom of Information request.

The project takes this promotion for inward investment as a starting point – it seeks to identify music made locally in the area, this ‘Arc of opportunity’; Stratford, Canning Town, London Docks – and to create an alternative narrative. The project aims to research, collect and record a compilation of soundtracks all produced within the boundaries of Newham’s Arc of Opportunity, compiling this place-based music online, creating a publication and a public event. On a personal note, I found this interesting, as one of my grandfathers was born and brought up in Canning Town.

Another artist talking at the festival was Claire Qualman. She described some of her projects including her initiation of the Walking Artist Network (alongside artists Gail Burton and Serena Hoarder) in 2004.

Other work also linked to walking the city, included East End Jam – inspired by walking around Stratford and finding many edible fruit trees and bushes (plums, sloes, apples) – foraging then making jam and holding a public feast (Jamboree) to celebrate and eat what was made. Again, as in post #2, this artist project links to the CPUL approach which highlights the value of a productive cityscape.